Merge NowWed, 21 Aug 2019 20:23:31 +0000Wed, 11 Sep 2019 20:32:17 +0000Libsyn WebEngine 2.0http://mergenow.libsyn.com/website
enhttp://mergenow.libsyn.com/websiteed@thedrive.com (ed@thedrive.com)http://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/e/0/7/2/e07294d91f69d7e0/Favicon3000.pngMerge NowEdward Niedermeyerai,automotive,autonomousvehicles,cars,mobility,regulation,robotics,sensors,software,technology,traffic,urbandevelopmentnoed@thedrive.comepisodicEpisode #11: Jason Stinson of Renovo on Selling the Picks and Shovels of the Autonomous Gold RushJason Stinson of Renovo on Selling the Picks and Shovels of the Autonomous Gold RushWed, 21 Aug 2019 20:23:31 +0000Would you be surprised to learn that a number of autonomous vehicle development programs offload data from their test vehicles by physically pulling out a hard drive and shipping it by snail mail to a cloud services provider? When Jason Stinson, the co-founder of the AV ecosystem company Renovo, told me this was common enough for his company to offer a more advanced data offloading system from their in-house tool kit as a product, I was certainly blown away. As the venture capital community's appetite for massive investments in AV developers wanes, companies that were floating on easily-raised cash are going to have to turn their science experiments into something more closely resembling actual business operations and companies like Renovo are helping them professionalize. On this week's Merge Now, Stinson shares Renovo's unique perspective as partner to countless companies in the autonomous drive space to shed light on this fascinating transition. ]]>26:45no As the venture capital community's appetite for massive investments in AV developers wanes, companies that were floating on easily-raised cash are going to have to turn their science experiments into something more closely resembling actual business operations and companies like Renovo are helping them professionalize. On this week's Merge Now, Stinson shares Renovo's unique perspective as partner to countless companies in the autonomous drive space to shed light on this fascinating transition.11fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #10: Alysin Malek of May Mobility on the Autonomous Urban Shuttle Business#10: Alysin Malek of May Mobility on the Autonomous Urban Shuttle BusinessWed, 31 Jul 2019 17:45:02 +0000As The Drive's recent reporting on the struggles of the French autonomous low-speed shuttle company Navya demonstrate, building a business around autonomous drive technology in the short term is tough. Growing without overextending, deploying while continuing to develop and weighing cost pressure against sufficient capabilities for real safety are all difficult balances to strike. One company that seems to have managed them well is May Mobility, whose COO and co-founder Alysin Malek joins Merge Now this week to describe their approach to domains, technology and business development.

]]>The Drive's recent reporting on the struggles of the French autonomous low-speed shuttle company Navya demonstrate, building a business around autonomous drive technology in the short term is tough. Growing without overextending, deploying while continuing to develop and weighing cost pressure against sufficient capabilities for real safety are all difficult balances to strike. One company that seems to have managed them well is May Mobility, whose COO and co-founder Alysin Malek joins Merge Now this week to describe their approach to domains, technology and business development. ]]>30:22noAs The Drive's recent reporting on the struggles of the French autonomous low-speed shuttle company Navya demonstrate, building a business around autonomous drive technology in the short term is tough. One company that seems to have managed the challenge well is May Mobility, whose COO and co-founder Alysin Malek joins Merge Now this week to describe their approach to domains, technology and business development.10fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #9: Mike Granoff of Maniv Mobility#9: Mike Granoff of Maniv MobilityWed, 17 Jul 2019 19:14:52 +0000

I was covering the traditional auto industry when I first met Mike Granoff of Maniv Mobility, and looking back I realize that he was the person who introduced me to the way of thinking about cars and mobility that has grown into my obsession with "mobility technology." At the time Mike was working on one of the most far-sighted (though ultimately ill-fated) companies in the space, Project Better Place, which showed me how dramatically cars could be reimagined. Today his unique vision has made him one of the top investors in what we now call mobility tech. On this week's Merge Now, Mike reflects on his early efforts to rethink mobility and how they evolved into a venture capital powerhouse that just closed a $100 million fund dedicated to supporting the future of transportation.

]]>29:37noMike Granoff reflects on his early efforts to rethink mobility and how they evolved into Maniv Mobility, a venture capital powerhouse that just closed a $100 million fund dedicated to supporting the future of transportation.9fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #8: Bryan Salesky of Argo AI On The Evolution Of AutonomyBryan Salesky of Argo AI On The Evolution Of AutonomyWed, 26 Jun 2019 18:11:24 +0000

In 2007, Carnegie Mellon's Tartan Racing team won the DARPA urban challenge and kicked off the push for autonomous vehicles that now has real cars driving on real roads and will soon birth real businesses. Bryan Salesky was a key contributor to Tartan's victory, and he has taken the expertise he gained there to Google, Caterpillar and now Argo AI, the AV development company he founded and runs. On this week's Merge Now, Salesky joins the show to reflect on how things have changed in the world of autonomous drive technology as it transitions from science experiment to real-world products and services. In the process he touches on some of the hottest topics in the AV world, and provides an accessible yet insightful view into one of the most interesting fields of mobility technology.

]]>53:15noBryan Salesky of Argo AI joins the show to reflect on how things have changed in the world of autonomous drive technology as it transitions from science experiment to real-world products and services8fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #7: Building The Motorcycle Of The Future, with ARC Vehicles CEO Mark TrumanBuilding The Motorcycle Of The Future, with ARC Vehicles CEO Mark TrumanThu, 20 Jun 2019 13:59:50 +0000

The most exciting new mobility technologies are most typically being used to make vehicles safer and more efficient, but why aren't more being used to take the enjoyment of enthusiast driving to new levels? At the new electric motorcycle startup ARC Vehicles, that's exactly what's happening. On this week's Merge Now, ARC CEO and former Jaguar Land Rover "special operations" engineer Mark Truman joins the show to explain all the wild technology going into ARC's futuristic Vector motorcycle, how these technologies are being used to enhance the rider's enjoyment as well as their safety, and where the motorcycle startup wants to go next. If you're worried that the future doesn't hold much promise for enthusiasts, be sure to give this episode a listen.

]]>54:40noOn this week's Merge Now, ARC CEO and former Jaguar Land Rover "special operations" engineer Mark Truman joins the show to explain all the wild technology going into ARC's futuristic Vector motorcycle, how these technologies are being used to enhance the rider's enjoyment as well as their safety, and where the motorcycle startup wants to go next.7fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #6: Dan Albert on The Automobile's Past, Present and FutureDan Albert on The Automobile's Past, Present and FutureWed, 12 Jun 2019 18:08:08 +0000When you stand on the brink of staggering change, the path forward can often be found by looking back. That's the premise of Dan Albert's excellent new book Are We There Yet? The American Automobile Past, Present and Driverless, which scours the history of cars in the United States for clues about the driverless future. In this week's episode of Merge Now, Dan and Ed discuss some of the most interesting episodes of automotive history and their bearing on the future, as well as the deeply personal nature of our relationships with cars and driving. ]]>01:08:41noDan Albert joins Merge Now to discuss his new book "Are We There Yet?" which explores the lessons that automotive history holds for the future of our relationship with cars and driving.
6fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #5: Why HD Mapping Matters, With Shaun StewartWhy HD Mapping Matters, With Shaun StewartWed, 05 Jun 2019 21:17:53 +0000Elon Musk's lidar bashing has grabbed public attention and dominated conversations about autonomous drive technology, but his dismissal of high definition mapping has flown under the radar. According to Shaun Stewart, a Waymo veteran and new advisor and investor at the mapping startup Carmera, we're missing out on an important discussion. Stewart talks about the importance of mapping at Waymo, why Carmera's approach was so appealing to him, and how he's supporting their effort to build out HD maps that faithfully reflect the changing environments that autonomous vehicles will have to navigate.]]>40:15noElon Musk's lidar bashing has grabbed public attention and dominated conversations about autonomous drive technology, but his dismissal of high definition mapping has flown under the radar. According to Shaun Stewart, a Waymo veteran and new advisor and investor at the mapping startup Carmera, we're missing out on an important discussion. 5fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #4: Trevor Reed of INRIX on Traffic and MobilityWed, 29 May 2019 18:03:46 +0000INRIX collects a huge amount of location-based data that it turns into insights into parking and traffic, powering popular apps like Waze and helping cities manage mobility challenges. In its recent Global Traffic Scorecard, INRIX looks into its massive horde of data to understand where and how much traffic affects us. INRIX transportation analyst Trevor Reed joins the show to break down the long-term trends in traffic, how urban development affects your commute, and how local differences in traffic could create a more fragmented future market for mobility technologies.]]>30:44noINRIX transportation analyst Trevor Reed joins the show to break down the long-term trends in traffic, how urban development affects your commute, and how local differences in traffic could create a more fragmented future market for mobility technologies.4fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #3: Oliver Bruce On The Year Of The ScooterEpisode #3: Oliver Bruce On The Year Of The ScooterWed, 22 May 2019 14:51:04 +00002018 was without doubt "the year of the scooter," as brand-new startups grew at dizzying rates and micromobility replaced autonomous vehicles as the hottest trend in mobility technology. Oliver Bruce has been at the center of all the excitement, partnering with the legendary Horace Dediu to launch Micromobility Industries, the Micromobility Podcast and the Micromobility California Summit. I joined Oliver at the Summit earlier this year to discuss the wild ride that was 2018, the reasons micromobility has taken off, why scooters sparked the trend, where it's all going and more.]]>27:59no2018 was without doubt "the year of the scooter," as brand-new startups grew at dizzying rates and micromobility replaced autonomous vehicles as the hottest trend in mobility technology. Oliver Bruce has been at the center of all the excitement, and I joined him at his Micromobility Summit earlier this year to discuss the wild ride that was 2018, the reasons micromobility has taken off, why scooters sparked the trend, where it's all going and more.
3fullEpisode #2: Dr Missy Cummings on MIT's Autopilot StudyEpisode #2: Dr Missy Cummings on MIT's Autopilot StudyFri, 17 May 2019 18:24:41 +0000Lex Fridman's recent Autopilot study has received a lot of attention, both for its provocative claims about how the Tesla driver assistance system is used in the real world and for its questionable methodology. This week, Dr Missy Cummings of Duke University joins the show to help walk us through the findings of other automation studies as well as the importance of sound methodology and peer review in studies like this. As a professor at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, a sought-after consultant on human-automation interaction and the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers (not to mention one of the first combat-qualified female fighter pilots), Dr Cummings brings enormous authority to this complex and fascinating topic.]]>Lex Fridman's recent Autopilot study has received a lot of attention, both for its provocative claims about how the Tesla driver assistance system is used in the real world and for its questionable methodology. This week, Dr Missy Cummings of Duke University joins the show to help walk us through the findings of other automation studies as well as the importance of sound methodology and peer review in studies like this. As a professor at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, a sought-after consultant on human-automation interaction and the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers (not to mention one of the first combat-qualified female fighter pilots), Dr Cummings brings enormous authority to this complex and fascinating topic.]]>47:05noDr Missy Cummings of Duke University joins the show to help walk us through the findings of other automation studies as well as the importance of sound methodology and peer review in studies like Fridman's. As a professor at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, a consultant on human-automation interaction and the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers (not to mention one of the first combat-qualified female fighter pilots), Dr Cummings brings enormous authority to this complex and fascinating topic.3fullMerge NowEpisode #1: Doubting Driverless Dilemmas with Sam Anthony and Julian De Freitas of HarvardEpisode #1: Doubting Driverless Dilemmas with Sam Anthony and Julian De Freitas of HarvardWed, 08 May 2019 17:19:22 +0000One of the most popular topics related to driverless cars is the idea of moral dilemmas, often presented in terms of the "trolley problem" where a driving agent must decide between two bad choices. Beyond the popular discourse, academics have even devoted considerable time to the issue of moral dilemmas for autonomous vehicles and a number of studies and papers have been written on the subject. But according to Sam Anthony and Julian De Freitas of Harvard Psychology, the level of interest in this topic is not matched by its relevance to actual AV development. Drawing on his experience as co-founder of Perceptive Automata, Anthony explains why this resilient idea needs to be put into the context of real AV development as he and De Freitas explain their recent paper "Doubting Driverless Dilemmas."

]]>35:37noAccording to Sam Anthony and Julian De Freitas of Harvard Psychology, the level of interest in ethical dilemmas for autonomous vehicles is not matched by its relevance to actual AV development. Drawing on his experience as co-founder of Perceptive Automata, Anthony explains why this resilient idea needs to be put into the context of real AV development as he and De Freitas explain their recent paper "Doubting Driverless Dilemmas."
2fullEdward NiedermeyerEpisode #0: A Brief Introduction To Merge NowEpisode #0: A Brief Introduction To Merge NowWed, 08 May 2019 17:16:20 +0000Welcome to Merge Now, The Drive's new weekly podcast series featuring conversations with the people shaping the future of mobility technology. In this preview Ed Niedermeyer, Senior Editor for Mobility Technology at The Drive and host of Merge Now, explains what the show is all about, what the name means, and who will be stopping by in the episodes to come. Editor-in-Chief of The Drive Mike Guy also stops by to introduce The Drive's other podcast efforts, including The Crash Diaries. Buckle up, and get ready to Merge Now!]]>14:23noWelcome to Merge Now, The Drive's new weekly podcast series featuring conversations with the people shaping the future of mobility technology. In this preview Ed Niedermeyer, Senior Editor for Mobility Technology at The Drive and host of Merge Now, explains what the show is all about, what the name means, and who will be stopping by in the episodes to come. 1fullEdward Niedermeyer